How to plan the best map layout in Farthest Frontier

How a player plans and builds their map layout in Farthest Frontier is crucial to their success in the game.

Debuting in August 2022, Farthest Frontier is a traditional PC city builder where players aim to build a thriving settlement out of the wilderness. The official webpage boasts fifty different buildings, advanced farming, and high levels of environmental interaction. One of the most important features, however, is how the structure of the map and where the player places different buildings can affect the success of their settlement.

Here’s everything players need to know about planning the layout for their Farthest Frontier settlement, from placing the town center to where to cluster individual buildings.

Choosing a town center

The first choice for their Farthest Frontier layout a player can make is the location of their town center.

Although there are six different biome options given upon starting a new game, new players should stick with the beginner-friendly Idyllic Valley that has plenty of resources and flatter land. Other relatively easy starting layouts include Plains and Lowland Lakes, though both are notably a step up from the valley. If the player isn’t happy with their given map, they can choose to roll a new one within the selected biome.

There are several factors on the land to keep in mind when selecting where to place the town center, especially because the town center is one of the only things that cannot be relocated. Ideally, a player should scout the visible area of the map and look for several things.

• Wolf dens and boars, which should be avoided as they will likely destroy the village in the early game
• Deer herds and shoals of fish in the area will be a helpful food source
• Flatland eases settlement expansion difficulty and is arguably the most important factor in having a successful village
• High fertility land nearby for farming (toggle F to check)
• High irrigation quality for farming and wells (toggle I to check)
• Proximity to bodies of water for fishing and access to resources like blueberry bushes and medicinal roots
• Proximity to clay, coal, or iron deposits for lategame development

Both fertility and irrigation quality have their own dedicated keys. Players can check other resource views by toggling with F4. While there are many things to think about, the exact location of the town center isn’t the most important. What is important is its relative proximity to resources and fertile land.

Farthest Frontier layout considerations for tier 1

In building the first layout for Farthest Frontier, players need to focus on staples such as shelter, food, and water.

Players begin Farthest Frontier completely from scratch. They have six villagers to begin performing basic tasks like chopping wood and building the firewood splitter. In tier 1, there are specific buildings that are crucial to expanding the settlement and leveling up.

Importantly, all buildings can be moved to change the layout of a player’s settlement in Farthest Frontier. The farther they get into the game, the more work it’ll take to reorganize. Some find it helpful to use dirt roads to plan a rough outline that they can change later.

Constructing basic housing

In Farthest Frontier, the player is first prompted to harvest trees and build a firewood splitter. One of the most basic and important buildings, the firewood splitter allows the player to generate the firewood resource for producing many different buildings and heating shelters in the winter. Players should put the firewood splitter by a large body of trees. Maintaining a constant supply of firewood and splitter workers is crucial to avoiding an in-game catastrophe.

Shelter is another basic necessity in Farthest Frontier, and up to six initial shelters holding four villagers each can be constructed. These should be built in their own residential district, away from the firewood splitter and other, later undesirable buildings.

Finally, players should use the irrigation quality toggle to select the best place for a well. The town center will ideally have already been placed over an area of high moisture, and shelters can be moved if need be to be closer to wells. Because of both the importance of having drinking water and the ease and utility of building wells, the more the merrier. Anywhere villagers will be, there should be a well.

Logistics and storage

If possible, players should focus on building both storage and food production buildings (see below) at the same time. Several of the supplementary buildings for hunting and gathering require food storage to already be in place.

Near a heavily wooded area relatively far from the town center, first at least one saw pit and then the stockyard should be built. The saw pit converts logs to planks, while the stockyard helps store all of the timber and other nonperishable resources. If the player hasn’t placed the new buildings near the firewood splitter, it should be moved. Another important aspect of storage location is the possibility of being near clay deposits or other resources to save time in later gameplay.

Players should next turn their attention to creating the root cellar as the main food storage and the storehouse as a backup. Both should be placed near each other, near the housing area, and right next to the town center. These are the two most likely targets for wandering raiders, and players would do best to wall them off as soon as they reach tier 2.

Lastly for the town center part of a player’s Farthest Frontier layout, the market should be placed relatively centrally in the map. Shelters can be moved within its effective radius if needed due to the market being an essential source of income, food, and desirability. Notably, it can’t be built until after the saw pit and stockyard because of construction requirements. Many recommend enclosing it with the town center and storage buildings when the option is available.

Hunting and gathering construction

Depending on whether more deer or more fish were found in the area during scouting, players should build two or three hunter cabins and fishing shacks. Availability is based on the amount of water or tree coverage, but hunter cabins provide the extra benefit of tallow and hides for later in the game. Importantly, the work areas of both the cabins and shacks can be moved after building and thus don’t have to be placed directly on herds or shoals.

Players should consider placing their hunter buildings relatively far from the town center to accommodate the desirability factor of other buildings. For instance, adding smokehouses near both the hunting cabin and fishing shack allows food to last longer. Without a smokehouse, the meat would spoil within a few months. With it, the fish or venison will last up to two years but villagers will be unhappy to be near it. Once they have enough resources, players can also add both a cobbler and tannery near the hunting cabin. The cobbler makes shoes that help improve settler speed and reduce illness, while the tanner’s hides reduce injury from animal attacks. To aid in hunting later, the fletcher building can also be added. This produces bows and arrows and improves the deer yield.

Additionally, forager shacks supplement the fish and deer with resources like willow and berries depending on the season. Any food foraged and not consumed over winter will be gone by spring. Nearby, players can construct the basket shop when able to increase settler carrying capacity.

Agricultural production

Agricultural fields take a lot of time, resources, and labor to construct. However, the ability to produce one’s food can make or break a settlement.

The main requirement for a field is high fertility, which can be found by toggling F and turning on the fertility overlay. Other than that, the exact location in a player’s Farthest Frontier layout doesn’t matter as much as other buildings and resources. Each 5×5 field requires one farmer to work, and players will likely spend the early years of the game cultivating the land to be able to grow crops. Eventually, they’ll want to have at least three fields for a full crop rotation. Some longtime players recommend having six by the time tier 3 rolls around.

Leveling up with shelter desirability

One of the main mechanics for leveling up in Farthest Frontier is increasing shelter desirability. A more desirable home encourages more settlers to come, and players can advance to the next tier once they have a high enough population. This higher tier unlocks new buildings, decorations, and benefits. Players can check an area’s desirability by toggling G.

Every decoration has a radius of impact, so it’s important to plan shelter locations wisely. Additionally, decorations of the same type won’t compound impact on the same shelter. At tier 1, here are the available decorations to increase a shelter’s desirability.

• Small shrub
• Small garden
• Medium garden
• Garden trail

However, certain buildings can also decrease desirability. This is why players should place loud, disruptive, and otherwise undesirable buildings as far away as is reasonable from shelters. Undesirable buildings available in our best tier 1 Farthest Frontier layout include the following.

• Fire splitter
• Smokehouse
• Compost yard
• Saw pit
• Tannery

Farthest Frontier layout considerations for tier 2

The bulk of layout construction during tier 2 of Farthest Frontier revolves around defense, ensuring a consistent food supply, and new industries.

Advancing from a tier 1 village to tier 2 unlocks several new buildings to add to the map layout and new stakes. A higher-tier village, for instance, is more likely to be raided and also have higher maintenance and desirability demands. To level up to tier 2, a settlement needs to have the following.

• Town center
• Eight shelters
• One market
• 30 villagers

With more to both gain and lose, players need to focus on concentrating their defenses and welcoming industries.

Planning the best map layout in Farthest Frontier is key to optimization, much like understanding if Valorant will drop FPS in Unreal Engine 5.

Building settlement defenses

Tier 2 is when players should expect to start seeing more raids on the settlement. These raids will focus on food, which is where protecting the storehouse and root cellar come in. Two of the new unlocked features are the palisade walls and gates. While surrounding the rest of the village is a later priority, players should first construct walls around the town center and food storage to make a basic fort.

The fort should also contain two lookout towers, complete with a villager to man each one. Although each tower has a small monthly price to pay, two will likely be enough to protect the main food supply.

With enough people and enough gold, a player can eventually construct barracks to house hired soldiers that can then be upgraded to watch towers. This can get expensive quickly, however, and should likely not be done until the settlement is wealthy enough to support it. Additionally, players should continue to place lookout towers as the game progresses.

Industry and trade

On the commerce side, a trading post is essential to growing the settlement and will lead to an expanded map layout. Because the trading post is another high value area for raiders, one of the best places to put it is behind the fortified defenses with the town square. The most helpful feature will be a road leading directly to the most for merchants to easily access it. Players should keep it stocked for gold and watch out for rare items, like heavy tools and livestock.

There are also several ways to expand industry within the settlement. Most buildings have neutral or negative impacts on shelter desirability, and some may find it helpful to add a business section to their Farthest Frontier layout. Mining operations especially will want to be far from the village but near the stockyard for processing. Additionally, players should consider a candle shop or pottery carefully, since at least one is needed for the next housing tier. Options for industry consist of the following buildings.

• Grain production – a storage granary, a windmill, a bakery (positive)
• Livestock – a chicken coop, a barn, a goat barn, an apiary and candle shop
• Hygiene – a rat catcher, a soap shop that acts as both an illness deterrent and a good to sell
• Mining – gold, coal, and iron mines along with corresponding work camps and a wagon depot
• Other resource extraction and processing – a clay pit and potter’s building, a sand pit, a charcoal kiln, a weaver building
• Security – a vault, an armory
• Increased tree harvest – an arborist building

Tier 2 also allows players to upgrade already existing businesses, now outputting more raw or refined resources. During this period, a player has the choice to upgrade these specific structures.

• The hunter lodge from the hunter cabin
• The fletcher workshop from the fletcher building
• The improved well from the basic well

Finally, for those investing in work camps and mining, they can construct temporary shelters near the distant outposts rather than near the settlement. This reduces risk of worker death due to travel and will be fully stocked so long as the wagon depot is built.

Homesteading and desirability

Tier 2 allows players to add a new type of home to their Farthest Frontier layout: the homestead, which houses five. Importantly, homesteads take up the same space as basic shelters and won’t interfere with a player’s current layout in Farthest Frontier. Shelters can be upgraded to homesteads when the following prerequisites are met:

• Tier 2 town center
• Basic well
• Two food types
• Access to herbs
• 30 desirability

Unlike with basic shelters, settlers can choose to abandon their homesteads and the village. They also, however, generate higher income, can hold larger households, and consume more luxurious goods. The main reason for homestead abandonment is a low desirability rating. Luckily, tier 2 unlocks several new decorations that can be added to the layout or replace others.

• Flag pole
• Medium plaza
• Small park
• Large park

Decorations from both tier 1 and tier 2 can be upgraded during tier 3 later without taking up more space, so a mix of both is a good investment.

New amenities furthermore become available that both increase desirability and are necessary to move up to a tier 3 settlement. Near the town square and within range of as many shelters as possible, players should look into building these.

• A healer’s house to reduce sickness
• At least one school, which is required to fill some jobs and also increases villager efficiency
• A temple to meet spirituality needs
• A festival pole for entertainment

Farthest Frontier layout considerations for tiers 3 and 4

While there may still be attacks, the best Farthest Frontier layouts for tiers 3 and 4 are mainly focused on enriching the village itself.

Tiers 3 and 4 begin the later stage of the game, where the main goal is enhancing current features and continuing to grow. More often than not, villagers are having their basic needs met and can start making more luxurious acts. The player’s settlement is heading beyond surviving and toward thriving.

Tier 3 requirements and new shelters

Once the town has begun moving onto amenities like schools and trade, players are ready to advance to the next level. To advance to tier 3, players must have these.

• A tier 2 town center
• One school
• One trading post
• 25 homesteads
• 150 villagers

Much like during tier 2, homesteads can now be upgraded to large houses and hold six settlers. To build large houses, the following requirements must be met.

• A tier 3 town center
• Three food types
• Access to candles or pottery
• 65 desirability

Tier 4 requirements and new shelters

The final level up is to tier 4, which requires everything from tier 3 and more. While the number of shelters doesn’t have to increase right away, each home can now hold more people and thus increase population. Theoretically, Farthest Frontier can support up to 1,000 settlers, but upgrading to tier 4 only needs players to have.

• A tier 3 town center
• One theater (built during tier 3)
• One trading center (built during tier 3)
• 25 large houses
• 300 villagers

Additionally, players unlock the largest shelter size yet with the mansion. Now able to occupy up to eight people, it’s easy to see how the population can grow explosively given the right resources and amenities. To add the mansion, the settlement has to have.

• A tier 4 town center
• Three food types
• Access to furniture or glassmaking (built during tier 3)
• 85 desirability

Village entertainment

A late-game way to continue improving desirability is by adding entertainment to the settlement. Villagers will begin requesting it once all basic needs are met. While the buildings themselves may have large up front costs, the entertainment industry greatly reduces emigration and helps spur immigration.

In tier 3, players can add theaters, pubs, and breweries to their Farthest Frontier map layout. All three have varying levels of positive impact toward shelter desirability. However, a word of advice for pubs – place them farther away from the town center to avoid any violent drunken brawls.

Tier 4 introduces construction plans for a library to supplement the school and continue boosting worker efficiency. Additionally, players can upgrade to the grand theater and the grand temple. Again, buildings that increase shelter desirability should be placed within range of as many shelters as possible.

Advancing settlement industries

With ways to mine resources, tiers 3 and 4 let players process and use their harvest to create more goods. Although the resources themselves make items that villagers want, most of the buildings needed will reduce shelter desirability. It would generally be better to place them either with the stockyard or with other businesses.

In tier 3, the following buildings and industries can be constructed.

• The saw mill from the saw pit
• The firewood splitter workshop from the firewood splitter
• A foundry for processing metal ores
• New brickyard
• A blacksmith

Once a player reaches tier 4, additional buildings and upgrades become available.

• The blacksmith workshop from the blacksmith
• The smeltery from the foundry

At this point, the trading post can also be upgraded to the trading center.

New buildings in tier 3

Tier 3 introduces a plethora of both new and upgraded building options for a player to choose from. More so than in earlier tiers, new buildings have additional prerequisites that may have to be constructed first. New and upgraded decorations also become available. Here are the buildings available for construction in tier 3, excluding entertainment and industry amenities:

• Fortified walls and gates from the palisades defense
• A hospital from the healer’s house
• An apothecary shop, requires a hospital
• New cheesemaker, requires a barn, and a preservist for food storage
• A warehouse from the stockhouse
• A brick root cellar from the root cellar
• New furniture workshop and a cooper
• A glassmaker

Decorations introduced and upgraded in Farthest Frontier tier 3 consist of these options.

• New shrine
• An ornamental tree
• A flower urn
• Small, medium, and large statues
• A paved flagpole from the basic flagpole
• Small and medium paved gardens from basic gardens
• Small and medium brick plazas from basic plazas
• A garden path from the garden trail
• Small and large paved parks from the basic parks

If players did not construct livestock or grain buildings during tier 2, tier 3 is the time to do so. Not only do they allow for resources like cheese, but the buildings also help feed an ever-increasing settlement population.

Final buildings for a Farthest Frontier layout

Players have a few more options available for buildings to add to their settlement by tier 4. For those more focused on defense, they can upgrade the armory to the arsenal and the barracks to the fort. Additionally, upgrading the farm allows for more livestock that can feed into industries like cheesemaking. The last new building available at tier 4 is the guild hall, which uses paper and boosts industry.

The best Farthest Frontier layout options

With all of the different buildings and desirability impacts, these are the best options for a player to plan out their Farthest Frontier settlement.

Most of the basic layouts, regardless of resource availability, involve some general principles. Shelters work best when kept around the town center with decorations and amenities like the market, schools, and entertainment. The town hall, food storage, and trading post benefit from being together and protected. Loud and undesirable buildings, such as the stockyard or windmills, should be kept in their own industrial area. The more wells, the better.

Given that Farthest Frontier came out in 2022, several players across Steam and the game’s wiki forum have posted their suggested map layouts. Most follow the clustered shelter model, with some spiraling outward from the town center and others keeping it closer to defense. Especially detailed layouts have entire blocks carved out for their farms, industry, and food storage with multiples of each unit.

According to both developers and the home screen, the game isn’t finished yet. That gives players plenty of time to perfect their Farthest Frontier map layout and incorporate any more features that get added in.